The Startup Scaling Checklist: A Framework for Founders from Founding to Series-B stages

At Newnex, we are constantly focused on finding ways to support startups and investors in scaling both businesses and investments successfully. To help with this, we’ve created a comprehensive checklist designed to guide startup founders through the various stages of growth: pre-seed, seed, Series A, and Series B. Each stage comes with its own unique set of priorities, and this checklist offers a clear, structured roadmap to help founders and investors stay focused on the specific goals that matter most at each stage of scaling. It's a practical tool to ensure a single-minded focus on driving growth and achieving sustainable success.

Pre-Seed Stage (Idea Validation & Early Traction)

1. Foundational Setup

  - Establish the core founding team (complementary skills, shared vision).

  - Validate problem-solution fit with potential customers.

  - Create a minimum viable product (MVP) to test market demand.

  - Legal structure: Incorporate the company, set up equity distribution (cap table).

2. Customer Discovery

  - Identify the target market and early adopters.

  - Conduct user interviews and surveys to validate the core assumptions.

  - Define key value proposition and core product features.

3. Market Research & Product Testing

  - Research competitors and market dynamics.

  - Gather feedback through MVP iterations.

  - Develop a go-to-market strategy (initial channels, messaging).

4. Financial Planning

  - Set up basic accounting and financial tracking.

  - Establish a low burn rate; bootstrap as much as possible.

  - Secure pre-seed funding through friends, family, and angels.

5. Hiring & Culture

  - Hire the initial core team (keep it lean).

  - Set the foundation of your company culture, values, and mission.

6. Metrics to Focus On

  - Customer validation metrics (number of early users, feedback).

  - Product-market fit signals (high engagement, repeat users).

  - Basic financial metrics (burn rate, runway).

Seed Stage (Product-Market Fit & Early Growth)

1. Product-Market Fit

  - Continue iterating on the product based on customer feedback.

  - Refine your value proposition and product to fit the market’s needs.

  - Increase product adoption and retention with your target users.

2. Revenue & Monetization

  - Develop early revenue models and pricing strategy.

  - Test your monetization channels (paid subscriptions, freemium, etc.).

  - Start tracking your customer acquisition cost (CAC) and lifetime value (LTV).

3. Team Expansion

  - Begin hiring additional team members (marketing, sales, product, engineering).

  - Solidify company culture and onboarding processes.

  - Build a core leadership team to delegate key functions (marketing, product, sales).

4. Marketing & Distribution

  - Scale go-to-market strategies that are working (ads, SEO, content marketing, partnerships).

  - Focus on customer acquisition and building brand awareness.

  - Build out early marketing and sales teams.

5. Investor Relations

  - Develop and maintain relationships with potential investors for future rounds.

  - Prepare your pitch and fundraising materials (deck, financials, roadmap).

  - Raise seed funding, ensuring you have enough runway (12–18 months).

6. Metrics to Focus On

  - User growth and engagement (acquisition, activation, retention).

  - Key financial metrics (runway, CAC, LTV).

  - Product stickiness (user retention, daily/weekly/monthly active users).

Series A Stage (Scaling Product & Expanding Market)

1. Scaling Operations

  - Focus on scaling product development and operational processes.

  - Invest in backend infrastructure to handle increased customer demand.

  - Refine and improve the core product based on deeper customer data insights.

2. Customer Acquisition & Growth

  - Expand your customer acquisition channels (ads, partnerships, outbound sales).

  - Focus on automating and optimizing the sales process.

  - Develop sophisticated user onboarding and customer success strategies.

3. Revenue Growth & Unit Economics

  - Double down on monetization strategies and optimize revenue streams.

  - Focus on improving unit economics (reduce CAC, improve LTV).

  - Expand pricing strategies to capture more value from different customer segments.

4. Team & Culture Expansion

  - Hire for scaling teams: operations, engineering, marketing, customer support.

  - Develop clear organizational structures and management hierarchies.

  - Focus on leadership development and building middle management layers.

5. Brand Building & Market Positioning

  - Invest in brand development (PR, content marketing, social proof).

  - Build a strong narrative around your brand and mission.

  - Penetrate new markets or expand offerings to new geographies.

6. Fundraising & Investor Communication

  - Raise Series A funding (target 18–24 months runway).

  - Keep communication clear and regular with current and prospective investors.

  - Align funding with clear scaling goals (new hires, product growth, market expansion).

7. Metrics to Focus On

  - Revenue growth (MRR, ARR).

  - Customer acquisition efficiency (CAC payback period).

  - Churn rate and user retention.

  - Profitability (gross margins, burn multiple).

Series B Stage (Rapid Growth & Market Leadership)

1. Aggressive Scaling

  - Focus on high growth by scaling product development, customer acquisition, and sales teams.

  - Build infrastructure for large-scale operations (systems, security, compliance).

  - Prepare for international expansion or diversification of product offerings.

2. Operational Efficiency

  - Streamline processes and increase operational efficiency (automation, tooling, data-driven processes).

  - Build out leadership and management teams to manage growing headcount.

  - Optimize supply chains, manufacturing (if applicable), and backend scalability.

3. Revenue Expansion

  - Explore additional revenue streams, upsell/cross-sell opportunities.

  - Implement advanced sales and marketing strategies (ABM, influencer marketing, partnerships).

  - Focus on increasing gross margins and scaling customer success.

4. Product Differentiation & Innovation

  - Invest in research and development to maintain product leadership.

  - Innovate with new features or complementary products that expand market share.

  - Expand product-market fit in secondary markets.

5. Fundraising & Financial Strategy

  - Raise Series B funding (with a focus on fueling rapid growth).

  - Strengthen financial reporting, forecasting, and compliance (move towards audits, potential exit/IPO preparation).

  - Build relationships with growth-stage investors.

6. Metrics to Focus On

  - Revenue growth (high double-digit or triple-digit year-on-year growth).

  - Profitability and path to breakeven.

  - Expansion of LTV (new product features, cross-sell/upsell).

  - Reduction of churn rate.

  - Team productivity and engagement (scaling culture).

Each checklist emphasizes the key focus areas for every stage of funding, helping founders prioritize product-market fit, growth, and operational efficiency as they navigate the startup journey. If you think we've overlooked anything important, we welcome your comment and feedback!